


Kamala and the Heroic Knight

by MassiveSpaceWren



Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Champions (Comics), Iron Man (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Don’t copy to another site, Fluff, Hurt Tony Stark, LARP, LARPing, M/M, Role-Playing Game, Torture, Unreliable Narrator, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-05 20:46:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18373781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveSpaceWren/pseuds/MassiveSpaceWren
Summary: Kamala was excited.Tony had stopped by early in the morning to load Kamala and her carefully made costume into the car, right next to Miles, who had been smiling tiredly. They had been looking forward to this LARP convention for months, had been planning their costumes and backstories, and now it was finally here. They'd fight alongside the coolest group of heroes on the con: the Avengers!~~~AKA the LARP AU nobody asked for.AKA the "EVERYONE likes to see Tony suffer" AU.If you are worried about the tags and warning, there is an explanation in the end notes! The basics are really fluffy.





	Kamala and the Heroic Knight

**Author's Note:**

> LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing and you can mostly imagine it as improvisation theatre. Everyone thinks up a character (with some rules), including a bit of background and skill set, and then you play and react as your character would. In this case, everyone is playing fantasy-based LARP, set in a fantastic old-timey setting. Swords are usually made of foam so you can actually try to hit each other. 
> 
> The end notes contain a further information in case you want to know about possible triggers, and a bunch of ideas, explanations and such about how some things can be done in LARP.
> 
> This fic is a fill for my Winteriron Bingo square "Iron Dad" and my Bucky Barnes Bingo square "Asset on the loose".

Kamala eyed the bottle she had just emptied with a disdainful look and groaned. The van they were sitting in was too hot even though it was still morning, and they'd been sitting in the traffic jam for what felt like hours.

Tony handed her a new bottle of water and chuckled lightly. "Ah, yes, you'll get the full Con package. Not only great adventures, heroic deeds and terrible villains, but also the annoying drive there! Overheated cars and way too little legroom because the car is so stuffed it is almost bursting. You should be happy we took the van, and all the stuff is in the back. When I started, I had to fit it all into my tiny car," Tony exclaimed, mockingly raising a finger to scold Kamala. She couldn't help but grin widely; with this company, the long drive wasn't so bad.

Tony had stopped by early in the morning to load Kamala and her carefully made costume into the car, right next to Miles, who had been smiling tiredly. They had been looking forward to this LARP convention for months, had been planning their costumes and backstories, and now it was finally here. They'd fight alongside the coolest group of heroes on the con: the Avengers!

After Kamala had met Tony on a gaming convention, barely able to keep her fangirling under wraps, they had bonded over their love for Fantasy and RPGs. Tony then had invited her to try LARPing and be in the Avengers' camp. Kamala had been more than happy to go with him- the Avengers were the kind of group the Fantasy magazines wrote about, after all. They had great concepts and costumes, tried to stay in character for most of the con, but were also rumored to be open to play along with everyone they met, no matter if they were a beginner or not.

It hadn't taken Kamala long to rope Miles in, and come up with character ideas. Tony helped them with the rules, but where Kamala was worried he'd try to get them to follow his ideas, he mostly encouraged Kamala's and Miles' own crazy plans.

Kamala had thought super-powers sounded very cool, even if she could really only use them in plot situations. Fighting was mostly done with with boffer weapons, so she'd have to rely on her own sword fighting abilities there. But the fast healing and enhanced strength might come in handy.

Miles had been climbing and bouldering for a while and had broken into an excited rant about how he'd want to climb walls in the LARP. Tony admitted that was harder to make possible as they couldn't allow people to climb any house, most of them were just for looks and not really stable, after all. Then his eyes had gotten a manic gleam, and he'd said he'd get a word in with the building crew, to mark some places that could be safely climbed and to maybe add some handholds.

Tony helped them think about characteristics and flaws, too. They both prefered to play characters similar to themselves, for now, to help them stay in character. Tony had grinned and told them about how most of his character idea was to be a knight in shining armor, like in the arthurian legends, when he first started. He'd been the protector and bodyguard of a friend who had stopped playing. By now, his character Edward had evolved, gained an enchanted armor that made him stronger than normal and gave him the ability to throw energy blasts. His armor was also a far cry from the basic breastplate he had started with. After a few years of LARPing, Tony had taken up smithing as a hobby, and made his own one-of-a-kind armor, with red and gold accessories. It was understandable how everyone started calling him the Iron Man. He was also co-leader of the Avengers, together with the Captain, a knight famous for his indestructible shield. Together they lead their band of heroes, planned the strategies of their attacks, and went looking for more magical artifacts.

Kamala was startled out of her thoughts as the car began moving again. The traffic jam seemed to finally be over! All three of them whooped shortly, and started on the last hour of their journey with renewed motivation.

 

\-----

 

When they arrived at the campsite, most other tents were already standing. They'd have to hurry to set it all up before the game would start and they'd play their characters.

A broad-shouldered blond guy jogged towards them, and waved them into the direction of what probably was supposed to be their spot.

"Hey, Tony, you're pretty late!" he said, looking at them through the open car window. "You can set up next to my tent. You also brought the ritual circle and the watchtower, right? I'll get Bruce and Reed to help us set it up so you can deal with your own tent."

"Thanks, Steve." Tony nodded. "By the way, this is Kamala and this is Miles, I've told you about them," he added, gesturing towards them.

Steve smiled and nodded in greeting. "Now go, set up, I'll see you all later!" Steve jogged off again, and Tony drove towards the campsite, grinning wildly.

 

\-----

 

They had barely had their tents standing and had gotten into costume before the con was officially starting. The organisers had explained some of the rules again, how it was a game for fun, how everyone should be considerate, and some fighting rules. Tony, ah, no, _Edward_ , took them to the Avengers shortly after.

He saluted in his armor and stepped into the command tent, Kamala and Miles at his heels. "Captain, good to see you again. I heard about the Children of the Hydra gathering in these parts, so I returned to help you. In my travels, I have met these young heroes, I think they would make a good addition to our team." Edward waved for them to step forward. "This is Kimi, she's a real marvel. I met her after she fought a huge, monstrous enemy, and we travelled together for a while after that." Then Miles stepped forward. "And this is Michael. I almost lost him behind enemy lines on one of the travels, but he's very resourceful. He also climbs walls like a spider. I'm sure you'll see it someday."

The Captain looked intimidating, decked out in blue leather and scalemail, the white star of his family crest on his chest and his shield. His expression changed to a welcoming smile after he looked them up and down. "Welcome. If you are even half of what Shellhead here tells me, you will fit right in."

Edward introduced them to some of the other heroes. There was the archer, who everyone just called 'Hawkeye', who was said to be a dangerous marksman. Everyone told them Natalie was one of their best fighters, and even better at sneaking. She had red hair and wore dark, practical traveling clothes. Richard, a man with greying temples, greeted them over his alchemy lab, but went back to work shortly after. His sister, wo everyone called the Lady Tempest, because she had the ability to be invisible and create force fields and thus sometimes travelled unseen like the wind, told them he was just very busy. Edward explained that he often worked with Richard and that most of his armor's powers was his own alchemy. Vincent also had greying temples, and a beard similar to Edward’s, but he wore a flowing robe and cloak. He said he was a sorcerer, and would help with rituals or magic in their battles, but that he wasn't a fighter like Iron Man.

 

Kimi's and Michael's first mission was to go scouting with Natalie, mostly to find out what the Children of the Hydra were up to. Kamala and Miles were also looking forward to seeing all of the convention area. They shared a few hushed excited words, before promising themselves they'd try to stay in character from now on.

 

\-----

 

Later that afternoon, Edward, Kimi and Michael were helping Richard transport an alchemical substance they wanted to use for a ritual they had planned the next morning. Kimi was trying to stay alert, and they were hurrying to make it home before dark. Dusk had already started, and they still had a way to go.

From one moment to the next, they saw the people walking up to them. Dressed in black, with the red, tentacled crest of the Hydra on some of their clothing. Kimi flinched and grabbed her sword tighter. She looked around, and realized they were surrounded.

Suddenly, a man with a mask painted black and white like a skull stepped closer to them, looming over Kimi and Michael. He had bones fastened to his armor in a crossed fashion, making him look grim and dangerous.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the man in the skull mask asked, his voice full of dark humor. "Seems like you should pay a toll to pass these lands. For example the root of the echo tree, that you are carrying. Maybe we'll only kill some of you, if you comply." The other enemies were laughing along, or murmuring in agreement.

Kimi swallowed. This didn't sound good at all. She glanced over at Edward, hoping he'd have a plan.

Edward looked at them, then his eyes landed on Richard. "You know the root is too important to give up. We _need_ it," he whispered, low enough the Hydra goons closing in probably couldn't hear. Richard nodded.

Kimi looked back to their enemies when the murmuring suddenly stopped. The crowd parted to let a person through. Kimi took an unconscious step back.

Walking up towards them in a confident stride was the Winter Soldier, one of the Hydra's most ruthless supporters.

The stories told about him in the Avengers' camp had been enough to make Kimi never ever want to meet him. He could kill swiftly and effectively, get close to a victim to finish them off and be gone fast, and he had never been caught. But the most horrible stories, told in hushed voices, were about the times he _didn't_ end it fast. Stories of torture and blood sacrifice to their disgusting Hydra-demon.

The dark laughter in the voices of the other men had sounded terrible. There was no trace of humor in the Winter Soldier's voice and for some reason, it made him sound even worse.

"Iron Man. Hand over the substance. Now." He didn't quite sound impatient, just like he already knew he would get what he wanted. Kimi knew that was probably because he always succeeded. This man had fought the Captain and walked away from it.

When Iron Man didn't make a move to hand over anything, the Winter Soldier cocked his head. "We could also take it from your corpses." A shiver ran down Kimi's spine, because the cruel amusement in his tone promised that there would be no reasoning with him. "Oh, but _you_ won't die here, Iron Man. You have the information we want, and when we're done with you, you'll wish you were dead."

Kimi couldn't see Edward's face behind his helmet, but she could see how he clenched his fists. Richard leaned over towards them. "Get ready to run. We're outnumbered, running is the only option," he whispered, never looking away from their enemies.

"You will never win! We'll stop you!" Iron Man shouted, facing the Soldier, before he started an incantation and gesticulated for the energy to gather in his palms.

"No!" the Winter Soldier growled and drew his sword while sprinting towards Iron Man.

At the last possible moment, Iron Man whirled around, shouted "Energy ray!" and aimed at the Hydra goons.

The bright light in Iron Man’s palms lit up the darkness, and some goons stumbled back, cursing about the magic’s power. Iron Man’s attack had created a small path.

"Run!" Iron Man shouted before the Winter Soldier's sword hit him.

Kimi sprinted into action. If they all ran fast enough, they might make it, they just had to get back to their camp! She managed to hit a Hydra follower with her sword when he was getting to close, but mostly concentrated on running.

A few moments later, when she didn't hear the shouts of their enemies behind her anymore, she looked back. She almost stumbled over her own feet. Michael and Richard were running closely behind her, but Iron Man was still fighting a losing battle against the Winter Soldier.

Kimi stopped and began running back, but Richard grabbed her and dragged her onwards, towards their camp. "No! We need to help him! We can't leave him there!!" she shouted, tears gathering in her eyes.

"What we _need_ to do is get the ingredient safely home. This was Iron Man's plan. We need to make it back, or his sacrifice will be in vain!" Richard's voice was firm but rough with worry.

Blinking back tears, Kimi looked back again. Iron Man seemed to be struggling to stay on his feet, but the Winter Soldier did not wait for him to regain his footing. A few more strikes with his sword, and Iron Man went down.

Kimi turned away and started running in earnest again. She only dared to look back when they arrived in the shadow of their camp's gate. Iron Man's unconscious body was roughly being dragged away in the direction of the Children of the Hydra's camp. She just felt numb when the gates closed behind her.

 

\-----

 

Kimi pressed herself close to the wooden wall. They could see the shimmer of light as the gate to their enemy's camp opened and closed. Michael, Natalie, Hawkeye and Kimi were far enough away to not be seen in the darkness.

Half an hour before, Kimi had pleaded with the Captain that they couldn't just leave Iron Man behind. Richard had told them that Iron Man had sacrificed himself to give the others the chance to take the root safely back to camp, which was a success. Kimi had been ready to argue more, when the Captain had gestured for them to be quiet. "We won't just leave him behind. But I also need my sorcerers here, to prepare the ritual. I'll need volunteers to go and save Iron Man. Be aware that you might also get captured, or killed," the Captain explained, his voice grave. Kimi and Michael had volunteered immediately, and Natalie and Hawkeye had decided to help them.

Now they were at the Children of the Hydra's camp, and 'just' needed to break in and get Iron Man out. They'd have no chance against Hydra's full army, so this would have to be a stealth mission. Maybe they'd manage to sneak Iron Man out, maybe he'd be kept with only a few guards.

Then the screams started.

Kimi flinched, and shot a surprised look towards her companions. Natalie only nodded grimly. She didn't seem surprised.

A few steps further down, Michael started to climb the wall. It would have been a sight to behold, watching him easily scale the wall, if Kimi hadn't been distracted by Iron Man's pain filled shouting.

Michael opened the small door they were waiting at, gesturing for them to sneak in quietly. Michael had a dagger drawn, but whispered that they had been lucky, there had been no guards at this small side entrance. Sneaking through the shadows, they could see some guards at the main gates, but few people between the tents. They quietly made their way towards a plaza near what seemed to be the officer's tents. The tall canvases around the square separated it from the rest of the camp and it was hard to get a look in. Hiding back outside the light of the fire, they tried to get an overview of the situation. Some people were gathered here, laughing and watching the events on the square.

Edward was lying on the ground, stripped of his armor, only wearing a light tunic and pants. He was curled in on himself, protecting his head and stomach, his clothes dirty and bloody.

"The great hero Iron Man. Probably won't defeat us while groveling at my feet," the Winter Soldier sneered.

Edward was trying to get his hands and feet under him, shaking badly and barely able to support himself. A moment later, the Winter Soldier pulled back his foot, and kicked Edward violently into his side, sending him flying. Edward was coughing up blood, his face contorted in pain.

The people watching hollered insults and erupted in laughter.

"Oh, not much fight in you after all." The Winter Soldier sounded almost sad. Then he grabbed Edward’s hair roughly. Edward's hands instinctively went to try and claw the Soldiers hands off, but he was unsuccessful. The Soldier pulled and Edward stumbled to his knees and then feet.

Laughing, the Soldier dragged Edward around by his hair for a bit, steering him towards two poles at the side of the plaza. When the Soldier let go, Edward sank to his knees again. The Soldier leant down and grabbed Edward's hand roughly, pulling it to the side to tie it to the pole, then repeating it with the other hand.

Edward hung limply in his bonds, breathing heavily and facing the 'audience'.

"Oh, we are far from done," the Winter Soldier announced before he grabbed Edward's tunic and tore it apart in one powerful movement. One of the other Children of the Hydra handed the Soldier a variety of whips, which he tested carefully in his hands. The Soldier stepped away, swung the biggest whip around and let it crack.

Kimi's eyes were still fixed on Edward, her hands clenched, and she could see him flinch. Michael grabbed her arm to pull her back. She had not realized how far she was leaning forward into the glow of the fire.

"We have to _do_ something!" Kimi whispered, "We can't just let them..." She swallowed and glared back at the plaza.

Natalie got a grim look on her face. "If we barge in now, we'll never make it out. We can only hope they won't be interested forever, and that there will be less people watching at some point."

Kimi swallowed and nodded shortly.

When she looked back, the Soldier had tested the whips and was glaring at the henchman that brought them. " _This_ is what you bring me?" he shouted, before using the whip on the henchman instead. When the henchman was curled on the ground, the Soldier put his boot on him. "I said to bring me the ones that _hurt_ ," he growled. "There is only one in this collection that will remotely do its job." He threw the whip he had used on the henchman down, took another, with short ropes, and strode over to Edward.

The first hit made Edward flinch back a little, but he was tied up and unable to protect himself. His teeth were clenched and his eyes were defiant. The second hit was worse, Edward was squeezing his eyes shut and breathing heavily. When the third hit collided with him, he couldn't hold back a scream.

Kimi looked down, trying to keep breathing normally. Natalie touched her arm, pointing towards a path where they could move closer, unseen. If they wanted any chance at getting Iron Man out, they'd have to be able to strike quickly and then flee. While moving into the new position, Kimi lost sight of Edward for a while, but she could still hear the sickening screams.

The minutes they waited felt like ages, every scream and every hit making them think it was the last one they could stand. The last one Edward could stand.

Then, finally, the Winter Soldier stopped, and put the whip down. He stepped closer to Edward, and pressed his hands to Edward's back, making him scream again. Then the Soldier untied him, uncaring that Edward fell to the ground. Edward's hand shot to his head as soon as the Soldier grabbed his hair again. With a strong movement, the Soldier dragged Edward upright, and presented his back to the people watching.

Kimi only got a glimpse from afar, but even she could see the amount of blood on it.

"Now, the public fun part is over, and we can start the actual questioning," the Soldier announced, shoving Edward into one of the tents. Some other Hydra goons cleared away the whips and the ropes left over from earlier.

After a while, some people also entered the tent Edward was held in. Kimi and the others were waiting to see if they might get a chance to intervene soon. Slowly, they crept closer to the tent, keeping more to the back of it. They could hear muffled voices, and then Edward was shoved out of the back entry of the tent. The small space there was sheltered by an awning and more high tents to the side, making it more private. The Winter Soldier was still there, as well as the man with the crossed bones across his chest, and they had brought four guards with them.

Edward was pushed onto a table and tied down. Every movement seemed to aggravate the wounds on his back, lying against the coarse wood. He was wincing and groaning in pain.

Then, the Winter Soldier stepped close again. "You will tell us about your plans for the ritual and for the battle," he said, almost as if this was a normal conversation.

"Never!" Edward grit out.

"That was not a request. It's simply the truth, in the end you _will_ talk." The Winter Soldier took an iron bar from a rack by the fire. Kamala could see the bright, hot end for a second, before he pressed it to Edward's skin. Edward screamed and tried to writhe away from it.

Kimi squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and looked at Natalie when she opened them again. Natalie gestured for them to go help Iron Man, once they attacked. A few seconds later, Natalie jumped into action.

Kimi had not seen her draw her dagger, but there she was, running towards the Winter Soldier, her weapon ready to strike. The Soldier barely blocked her attacks. They exchanged a few blows before glaring at each other, trying to gauge the other's next attack.

Natalie's face split into a dangerous smile. "Should we turn this into a serious fight, then?" she asked.

The Winter Soldier glared and threw away the hot metal bar in favour of a dagger he pulled from his boot. "This will end quickly," he agreed. He attacked ruthlessly, but Natalie was quick to block and counter.

Kimi and Michael followed Hawkeye towards where Edward was bound down. Michael started untying him while Hawkeye shot the guard standing to the side. Kimi was busy fighting another guard, but she could still hear the sound of arrows flying and the other goons falling down screaming. She grunted when her opponent managed to hit her arm, but she got in a strike when his parry was too low. A second later, an arrow hit him in the chest, followed by another. The man went down.

Kimi turned around and rushed to Edward's side to help him sit up, Michael was supporting him from his other side.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Natalie fighting the Winter Soldier, if it could be called that. They both seemed to have lost their knives throughout the battle. Now Natalie was aiming a kick at the Winter Soldier, but he caught her leg and used it to push her down. Rolling with the movement, she brought her other leg up and aimed her knee towards his chin. The Soldier let go and staggered back, giving Natalie enough time to come to a stand again.

Kimi tore her gaze away from the fight and concentrated on helping Edward stand and walk.

"Run!" Natalie shouted, "I'll follow in a moment!"

Kimi and Michael started walking faster, struggling to support Edward, who was leaning on them heavily. They heard the guards shouting as they came closer to the gates. Looking around for a way out and their companions left behind them, they slowed almost to a stop.

"No! Keep going… There, to the smaller gate…!" Edward's words were slurred, but they saw what he meant. With Natalie and Hawkeye fighting near the commanders' tents, the guards rushed there and left an opening for them to get out.

When they almost reached the gate, Kimi heard more shouting behind her. She startled, ready to turn around and go help the others. Edward grunted. "Trust them to do their part and _keep going!_ " The few more seconds it took to get to the gate felt impossibly long, running through an enemy camp, carrying an injured person.

A guard was running towards them, sword drawn, when an arrow with purple feathers hit him in the chest. A moment later, Kimi, Michael and Edward ran through the door and turned towards their own camp.

Behind them, they heard footsteps coming closer. Kimi glanced back and saw Natalie and Hawkeye sprinting after them. The dark shapes of people were appearing on the walls, and down by the gates some guards seemed to be trying to follow them. They moved as fast as they could, leaving the rain of arrows behind and when the gates to their own camp came into view, even their pursuers seemed to give up.

As soon as they were through the gates, one of the healers was rushing towards them, supporting Edward. Hawkeye took over supporting Edward's other side when the Captain came to stand in front of them. He nodded grimly at them, before asking what exactly had happened.

Before Kimi could say anything, Edward tried to lift his head. "I got a look at their plans," he mumbled. "It was pure luck, but I saw it. The ritual they're planning. They'll try to take the sacred ruins to the east, to summon one of their demons. I'm not exactly sure, but the ritual notes looked like it would be one of the big ones. We need to stop them!" Edward's voice was raspy, but urgent.

"We will, Iron Man, we will," the Captain said, trying to calm him down.

Edward grabbed for the Captain's hand, squeezing it. "I saw the summoning circle they found, they'll try to do it at noon-" Edward broke off and started coughing.

"You need to get some rest. We'll be ready for them." The Captain's voice was strong and calm, as if there was no doubt they'd make it, exactly as the Captain said. "I'll send someone over later, in case you have more details to tell us. But for now, rest." He put a hand on Edward's shoulder. "It's good to have you back."

Edward smiled weakly and nodded. Kimi and Michael followed the others to the healer's tent, where Natalie motioned for them to wait outside, while they carried Edward in.

Natalie was scarily calm, but in this situation, it only helped Kamala calm down herself. She was still breathing heavily, winded from the fighting and the running, but even more upset from what they had witnessed. The children of the Hydra were evil, she had known that, but to stoop that low... Kimi shuddered. It didn't help that the occasional scream could be heard from the healer's tent.

Natalie handed Kimi a warm cloak to wrap around her, this late at night it had gotten quite cold. She sat down with Michael and Kimi, quietly reassuring them that they had gotten Edward back, that it would be fine.

When her breathing calmed down, Kimi wanted to check on Edward. The guards reluctantly let them into the healer's tent, where Robert was leaning over Edward, who was lying on his stomach. They had already wrapped bandages around some of his wounds, and draped cloth over others to not aggravate them, but Kimi could see one of the open gashes that the whip had left on Edward's back.

Robert started sewing the wound back together with swift fingers, while Edward bit his lip to keep from shouting in pain. He motioned for Kimi to come closer and grabbed her hand.

"Thank you," he groaned. "You saved me, risked your life, got me out of there... I don't know what would have happened had your team not come." He stared at her with piercing blue eyes. "I tried to hold out... but being caught by the Winter Soldier usually means you die, and it will-" He coughed and took a rattling breath. "It will not be a kind death." Another rattling breath shook his body. "You are true heroes," he whispered hoarsely, before his hand went slack in her grip and his eyes closed.

"No... Edward!" Kimi sobbed, falling to her knees.

Robert laid a hand on her shoulder, leaving bloody stains behind. "He's unconscious. He'll be fine, we have good alchemic potions, he'll get through this somehow."

Kimi nodded, still staring at Edward's unmoving body.

Robert squeezed her shoulder. "You should get out of here and get some rest yourself," he started.

"No, I- I want to stay..." Kimi's voice was rough with emotion.

The look Robert gave her was dark and angry. "Go to sleep. Now," he said, his voice steely.

Hawkeye helped Kimi up and whispered "You should listen to him. You wouldn't like him when he's angry."

Robert just rolled his eyes.

 

\-----

 

When Kamala awoke the next morning, it was already light outside. She fumbled for her phone to check the time, before prodding Miles to wake up. Tony's sleeping bag was already empty.

She started to get dressed quickly, eager to go out again. Her conversation with Miles was hushed, but she couldn't quite keep herself from gushing about the convention so far.

"Yesterday was so cool! We totally saved Tony!! And the team-up with Natalie and Hawkeye was awesome!" Kamala said while pulling her tunic over her head. "Did you _see_ how Natalie fought the Winter Soldier? They did some crazy stunts! And Hawkeye was really good with that bow! And without you we wouldn't even have gotten in!"

"Yeah! I never would have guessed the wall-climbing would turn out to be so cool! It's amazing Tony set it up like that with the organization of the convention," Miles replied. He was looking through the pile of clothes to find his pants.

"A shame what those Haydra guys did to him, though. To his character. I mean, we got him back, but this will probably change things… I hope he can just keep going as he was before. What a shitty thing to do to another person's character." Kamala tied her belt around herself and pulled on her shoes. "What kind of assholes would like to play these Hydra characters?" She mumbled to herself.

Miles shrugged and pulled on his boots, too. "Time to get in character again?" He grinned widely, reaching for the tent flap.

Kamala stretched and nodded, unable to suppress her own grin.

 

\-----

 

Kimi saw the masses of Hydra supporters advance, pushing back against the Avengers' fighters. The fight was brutal and while no side wanted to give up ground, with terrible enemies like the Winter Soldier or the man wearing crossed bones over his chest, the Avengers were slowly retreating.

Kimi rushed back through the ranks to reach the group of magicians staying behind the frontlines. The Children of the Hydra had planned to finish their huge ritual at noon, but their own sorcerers had been working all morning to make an attack on their enemy's ritual circle possible. Everyone else had been gearing up for the fight, too. Edward had been up since the early morning, despite his still healing wounds, repairing his armor. A group of warriors with swords and shields had been practicing their maneuvers with the Captain. Their alchemists had given out potions, their magicians had enchanted them to be stronger or more resilient. Now, they were working on their own, smaller ritual, to summon a powerful ally for their fight.

The goal was to prevent the Children of the Hydra from summoning their disgusting demon-creature. Edward had explained that the easiest way would be to attack their summoners, and then destroy their ritual circle. The only problem was that their magicians would probably be under the protection of their strongest troops.

Kimi was waiting for their own ritual to conclude. She was getting antsy as the frontline seemed to come closer and closer to their position.

Suddenly, a huge cloud of billowing smoke rose to the sky, tinged bright green. Kimi flinched when the deafening roar started, pressing her hands over her ears. Hawkeye and Natalie were shouting for their warriors to move aside, to leave a gap, when something moved in the smoke.

A huge, green hulk of a man sprinted from the smoke, almost trampling Kimi down, before rushing into the enemy combatants. He was roaring and punching at the Children of the Hydra, throwing them back and ripping a hole into their ranks. The Captain's shout followed a few seconds later.

"Avengers! Attack now!" Cap's voice was loud but clear, and full of conviction. "We can push them back now!"

A team of their heroes ran towards the Children of the Hydra, who apparently had not expected another attack directly after that green hulk. Kimi stared for a few seconds, then joined the shouts and ran with them towards their enemies.

 

\-----

 

Kimi blocked the sword aimed at her with a grunt. She took a step back, before striking her enemy down. He went down with a grunt and Kimi struggled to raise her sword again. She couldn't give up yet. Michael and her were among a small group who now had to protect Richard, Vincent and the other sorcerers, who were working on purifying their enemy's ritual circle with Richard’s alchemic help. If they managed to break all the enchantments, no Hydra-demon would be summoned today. Without the demon, the Avengers' forces would beat their enemies, but it wasn't over yet.

Coming towards them were mostly a few single fighters, clearly not organized for a big attack. Kimi looked over to the rest of the Avengers, who were keeping most of the Children of the Hydra's forces at bay.

Out there, with no one daring to come too close, the Iron Man was fighting the Winter Soldier.

Kimi had never seen such a fight before.

The Winter Soldier was strong, barely hurt by Edward's energy rays, but pushing him back gave Edward a chance to attack again. The Winter Soldier tumbled to the ground, but before Edward could reach him, he rolled back to his shoulders and got enough momentum to push away from the ground, landing on his feet again. Edward still swung his sword at him, but the Winter Soldier blocked the strike and jumped, landing on Edward's shoulder and drawing a dagger. Losing no time, Edward rolled, forcing him to let go and leap off so he wouldn't get crushed.

Suddenly, a loud boom could be heard at the ritual circle, and white smoke was covering up most of it. Kimi heard Vincent cheer for a moment, but when she looked back, he was already swallowed up in the smoke.

"No!" The growl the Winter Soldier let out sounded more like an animal than strictly human. A moment later, the Soldier started to sprint towards the ritual circle, when Iron Man tackled him to the ground. He was struggling and thrashing against Iron Man's hold, snarling and wild.

With great effort, the Soldier freed himself. "You won't get away with this, Avengers! We _will_ win, we _will_ sacrifice your pathetic souls to the Hydra! Don't think a few scars is all you'll get the next time," the Winter Soldier growled, before running off towards the retreating forces of the Children of the Hydra.

Edward shuddered, and sank down to his knees. He took his helmet off, breathing heavily, and ran a hand over his face.

Kimi made her way over towards him as fast as she could. "Edward, are you all right?" she asked, concerned.

Edward coughed roughly. "I... I'll be fine..." He swallowed. "He got away again. He'll be back to haunt us all..." Edward's face was lined with fear and worry.

Kimi helped Edward stand and shuffle towards the ritual circle. The Captain was standing among the sorcerers, his face showing relief. When he saw them approaching, he ran over to help support Edward.

"Iron Man! You're injured?" He asked, eyes roaming over the armor, checking for blood.

Edward gasped. "Nothing Robert can't fix. What happened here?"

The Captain looked at the ritual circle, then over Kimi and the others, before letting his eyes settle on Iron Man, looking fond. "We won."

 

\-----

 

Smiling slightly but also looking exhausted, Tony pulled up to the parking lot of the burger joint.

After they had packed up the tents and decoration, they had all settled into the cars, and agreed to meet again for food and a break. Out of the window, Kamala saw other people dressed in costumes, just getting into the car again. She grinned at Miles. This close to the convention grounds, it wasn't really surprising to run into other people from the LARP. Kamala, Miles and Tony also hadn't bothered with changing into their normal clothes again, although Tony had packed up the armor and was wearing a tunic and pants.

"Oh, I think I should get my actual real-life money out of the back," Kamala said when they got out of the van.

Tony tossed her the keys. "I'll go and order for us all," Tony said, walking towards the entrance. "You can get to our seats already! Or, well, find a table big enough for all of us, but I think I already saw Steve's car."

Kamala turned towards the back of the van where Miles helped her search through the endless bags and boxes.

"This was really something, right?" Miles asked, still sounding awed by the amazing weekend they'd had.

"Absolutely! We rock as heroes." Kamala grinned. "And those Hydra guys can suck it! We beat those assholes good!" Miles laughed, nodding.

It took a moment to dig out Kamala's wallet, which she simply stuffed into one of her pouches. Miles and her walked into the burger joint together, and stopped by the entrance to look around for Steve.

Instead, their gaze landed on a far less welcome sight.

At the biggest table, over in a corner of the room, sat the Winter Soldier, with what could only be that crossbones-guy next to him.

Both were still wearing the dark leather they wore at the LARP, but they got rid of the masks. It didn't help the Winter Soldier's appearance. He scowled at Crossbones, the dark smudges under his eyes giving him a more intimidating look.

Kamala froze on the spot, her blood running cold.

Even here, they still looked dangerous and intimidating. These were the guys that hurt Tony's character so much, that it had almost killed him. Kamala couldn't help but scowl in their direction.

Before Kamala could say anything, Tony and Steve appeared beside her, carrying trays loaded with food. "What are you waiting here for? Sit down with us," Tony said, smiling.

Kamala nodded and followed them, only to freeze again when Tony sat down next to the Winter Soldier and Steve sat down opposite of them.

"...What?", she mumbled, frowning.

"Come on, sit down. If the others arrive later, they can drag over some chairs," Tony said, gesturing to the seats still empty.

Kamala sat, her brain still not quite catching up with the situation.

"This is Brock." Tony gestured to Crossbones, who mostly stared back at them. "You just met him as Crossbones, but he also takes care of crafting Hydra's artifacts." Then Tony draped an arm over the Winter Soldier's shoulders and grinned widely. "And this is Bucky, he's doing most of the organization of the Hydra camp. He also decided to call his character "Winter Soldier", I know, incredibly cheesy, but he somehow pulls it off, right?"

Bucky rolled his eyes and leaned in to Tony. "You're one to talk, oh great Iron Man," he chuckled, before pressing a chaste kiss to Tony's lips.

Kamala stared, wide eyed when he turned towards her. "Welcome to our little group! I hope you had fun this time?" Bucky asked her, smiling.

Kamala only nodded mutely.

Brock leveled her with a dark look. "So, you thwarted our plans to kill Iron Man. We are _not happy_ with that."

Shocked, Kamala frantically searched for something to say, when Brock broke into bright laughter. "Hah, don't worry, I'm just messing with yah'," he chuckled. "Your rescue mission was _amazing_. I really thought Edward was done for."

Bucky grinned. "I mean, we did give them some time before finishing Edward off." He stole one of Tony's fries. "You tend to overdo it a little, though. Telling me to rip apart the undershirt! _Some_ people would say that’s a bit much," he added, looking at Tony fondly. 

" _Some_ people are idiots. Come on, I work out for a reason! Don't you think I have the abs to show them off?" Tony gasped, mock offended. "And don't tell me playing all evil bad guys torturing the good guy wasn't a nice thing for everyone in your camp. Also, just ripping off my tunic is such a power move. You’re welcome. Now everyone will think you’re even more badass. Lucky they can’t see from afar how flimsy that thing was."

Kamala was still reeling with the new information. Apparently, Tony was a lot more okay with his character going through some dangerous stuff than she had thought.

"Now I get to be all 'hurt but stoic' whenever there's news about the Winter Soldier!" Tony let go of Bucky to strike a pose. "All the manpain! I bet my hero status only grows with this."

Everyone was laughing at his antics, and even Kamala chuckled along. When Brock stole one of Bucky's fries and Bucky got up and swore to 'take down this awful fiend', and when everyone used his distraction to grab a few more fries, Kamala was laughing so hard her stomach hurt.

Tony got more food for everyone to share, and when he smiled at Bucky, the exhaustion from before seemed like it was never there.

Later, more of the Avengers joined them and they ended up eating and talking for a long time, each telling the best or funniest tales their characters went through, or even other stories from real life.

Steve told how in college, Bucky walked in on him trying out a new helmet, found Steve's collection of tabletop RPG rulebooks, and wanted to try out role-playing games.

Brock was still laughing about how when he fought Sam at a LARP and was spewing all kinds of Hydra ideology crap, Sam just told him to shut up, and attacked.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Tony told them how impressed he had been at his first LARP, and thought it was almost like an MMORPG, just with more actual role-playing.

Tony and Bucky kept leaning into each other, shoulders touching or sliding an arm around each other.

Hours later, they separated to drive the last part of their journey home. Kamala and Miles waited while Tony kissed Bucky goodbye, and Bucky got into a car with Steve and Brock. Tony climbed into the van again.

Looking over at them, Tony grinned. "Had fun this weekend?"

Kamala and Miles nodded enthusiastically. She could hardly wait for their next LARP.

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone in this AU is a fairly normal person, and the “superhero” stories is what they play. 
> 
> All the torture in the fic is just a consensual improv theatre kind of thing. All the pain is just acting, and anything that might be too distressing psychologically, people can either consent to it beforehand, or have some kind of different option (and/or have a way to tap out during the game).  
> Kamala/Kimi is an unreliable narrator in the sense that she tries to stay in character and perceive the make believe fantasy world, and not analyze how it is made. In my opinion, LARP is more fun if you go with what is happening, and stay in character. 
> 
> Now, some explanations or background, in case you wondered about single scenes:  
> Let’s say that Kamala and Miles are still a bit younger than most LARPers there, but are at least 18, since some camps don’t let minors enter to watch torture or blood rituals.  
> Disclaimer: I personally have not yet LARPed any torture scenes, but had some friends tell me things.
> 
> Bucky does some things one probably wouldn’t do to a stranger, but a lot of it was meant to be either Tony’s idea and communicated before, or Bucky decides how much Tony will be ok with because he knows him well.  
> The shirt ripping scene was Tony’s idea and they had a very thin tunic prepared for such things (since Bucky can’t _actually_ rip apart regular clothing).
> 
> Some of the things can easily be done with a few tricks:  
> The whips Bucky used would be soft fabric, not actually hurting. All blood that is mentioned in the fic is fake blood, that for example Bucky rubs onto Tony when he is touching the “wounds”, to make them look nice and bloody.  
> When Bucky “drags” Tony around by the hair, Bucky grabs the hair and Tony presses his hands down to his head so he can’t feel the pull, and then leads Bucky around and plays as if Bucky was dragging/pushing him.  
> Torture by hot metal would be a boffer weapon (very soft) that is painted like it was metal with a white, hot end, and the rest is just acting on the toruree’s side.
> 
> Bucky and Natasha fighting is NOT what normal LARP fight looks like. Usually you are only allowed to hit people with foam weapons, and all infighting (aka fighting without weapons, brawling, and such) is just acted and not actually fought to win. Bucky and Natasha know each other well and so they can have a cool show-off fight with some jumps and such thrown in. Their fighting is more like improvised show-fighting, than actually counting for points. 
> 
> Special powers like climbing walls aren’t always allowed on big conventions, but on smaller things, the organizators and game masters may build special powers of the characters into the plot, since the goal is for everyone to have fun, and cool stuff planned by the players is still cool stuff.
> 
> For sewing wounds as a healer, there are very cool props like a piece of fake skin with a gash modeled into it, rimmed with fabric “cut” open around the gash, or leaving an open window for operating. You can put it on a person, and hide the places where the fabrics overlap a bit, and it looks like you are actually treating a wound at first glance. 
> 
> Camps or factions hating each other ingame usually doesn’t translate to disliking each other outgame. To have a nice event, sometimes they plan rough things together, and communicate, and/or have the players party together. 
> 
> Some other fun things to know:
> 
> Bruce is playing a healer mostly, but was annoyed to stay behind in the fights, so they invented the Hulk, a monster suit worn by Bruce. It is not the same character, but the same player. (here is a picture of a golem, imagine Hulk like that but with green skin as we know him: https://s14-eu5.startpage.com/cgi-bin/serveimage?url=http:%2F%2Fwww.larping.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F01%2F03-YsjsfiI.jpg&sp=63820eeea08082b8e8febb379375d825)
> 
> I headcanon that Bucky used to play Steve’s sidekick, but stopped playing that character in favour of having fun in the “evil” Hydra camp.
> 
> I also had wayyy too many ideas on how they each ended up being LARPers, and I liberally stole ideas from comic canon and MCU canon. 
> 
> ~~~
> 
> constructive criticism on what to watch out for in the next fic is always welcome.


End file.
